1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and system for performing dialling of a telephone number supplied from a data store.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known to provide a computer with a store of telephone numbers (for example, each associated with a different individual), and a telephone dialler program. For example, the store may consist of an address book held for a telephony application.
Such systems are typically provided on a single stand-alone computer. However, increasingly, large corporations are employing networks of computers. Such networks are interconnected by a connection protocol defining the xe2x80x9cInternetxe2x80x9d. Following the growth of the Internet, and the availability of information in hypertext format using hypertext transfer protocol (http), many computer users have access both to a corporate network and the Internet. For simplicity, accordingly, many corporate networks are using Internet protocols including http, even within their own networks whether or not these are connected externally. Such internal networks using Internet protocols are generally referred to as xe2x80x9cIntranetsxe2x80x9d.
Whereas corporate networks are well protected against external intrusions (and the corresponding risk of access to or misuse of confidential data, or even damage or destruction to the data and programs of the network) it is harder to apply such protection across the Internet because of the differing interests of different users. Accordingly, standard Internet communications using, for example, http compliant web browsers, make it difficult for a server computer to access data held on a client computer (for example, one running a web browser program) and to cause the download and on line execution of a program on the client computer.
However, typically, a large organisation will wish to hold central databases (for reasons of data consistency, amongst others) on a server computer, and to provide access to these databases by remote users through server programs on their terminal computers.
An aim of the present invention is to enable a user of a terminal computer, in a network of this kind, to access the telephone number of a party he wishes to contact, and to have the telephone number automatically dialled to set up a connection to that party, using Internet-type communications protocols (e.g. the http service), over the Internet or an Intranet operating similarly thereto, whilst having regard for the security difficulties raised thereby.
Computer-telephony integration (CTI) is discussed in the following references (incorporated herein by reference):
1. Catchpole, Andrew; Crook, Gary; and Chesterman, Doug. Introduction to Computer Telephony Integration, Br. Telecommun. Eng.; Jul. 14, 1995, p. 98.
2. Catchpole, Andy. Computer Telephony Integrationxe2x80x94The Meridian Norstar. Br. Telecommun. Eng., Oct. 14, 1995, p. 209.
3. Johnson, Philip; Catchpole, Andy; and Booton, Laurie. Computer Telephony Integration. The Meridian 1 PBX. Br. Telecommun. Eng., Jul. 15, 1996, p. 150.
4. Hillson, Graham; Hardcastle, Chris; and Allington, Marc. Callscapexe2x80x94Computer Telephony Integration for the Small Business. Br. Telecommun. Eng., Jan. 15, 1997. P. 293.
Additionally, a number of applications programming interfaces for assisting and designing CTI systems are available; for example, the Java Telephony API (JTAPI) discussed at Sun Microsystems Java Web site java. sun.com/products/jtapi/.
Accordingly, in the present invention, there is provided a dialling system in which dialling information is stored in permanent form on the client terminal (e.g. as a xe2x80x9ccookiexe2x80x9d data file on the hard disk thereof and combined with called party dial number information retrieved from a remote database on the server computer to form the dial number. Thus, simple and secure Internet access processes may be used to retrieve the number to be dialled, combine it with the dial out prefix and perform dialling.
In one embodiment, dialling is performed by the terminal computer. In this case, preferably, resident dialling programs on the terminal computer are accessed by a program (e.g. a xe2x80x9cpluginxe2x80x9d co-operating with a conventional web browser) which is already resident on the terminal computer rather than being downloaded during the search and dial operation. Thus, terminal computers are protected against access to their input/output devices (e.g. communications ports) from unauthorised external sources.
Preferably, the resident program in this embodiment is controlled by a downloaded program (e.g. a script or an applet) which supplies to it the number to be dialled. Thus, some of the functionality necessary at the terminal computer is maintained in the machine-independent form (e.g. using a Java or JavaScript interpreter resident thereon) rather than requiring compilation into native code depending on the processor of the client terminal.
In an alternative embodiment (which is preferably combined with the first), third party CTI is employed and dialling is instructed by the server computer.